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View Full Version : Are Vista icons the "wrong" way round?



fatality_uk
June 28th, 2008, 07:21 PM
http://www.istartedsomething.com/20080612/are-windows-vista-icons-facing-the-wrong-way/

Interesting from a physiological point of view!

I just did a quick Google search for Vista desktop and Gnome desktop images and it does feel odd, the Vista icons DO FEEL the wrong way round.

Elfy
June 28th, 2008, 07:29 PM
Makes it look like they don't want them to be used :)

acelin
June 28th, 2008, 07:35 PM
Yeah there is a point here- it always did feel funny ( the icons) but I was never able to put a finger on it...
Icon direction is an interesting thing to think about. I have to say I like OS X's icons the most out of any OS.

Tundro Walker
June 28th, 2008, 07:43 PM
Wow, kick 'em while they're down, dude. :)

I never really thought about this, nor have I cared to. But, looking at my Vista desktop, yes, the icons "face away" from me in their default position.

Now, the bigger concerns I have with this "issue" are ...

1) Microsoft would pay someone to nit-pick this level of detail of the UI, and yet they fail on other accounts, like making the shutdown menu remember the last option you chose. (It doesn't. It keeps defaulting to sleep or whatnot, so if you're a habitual "shutdown" person, you have to waste time re-selecting it every time. Unless you google how to change the default setting.)

2) Of all things to focus attention on ... this? I mean, really, icons facing the "wrong" way? With all the other issues with Vista, this shouldn't even be a blip on the radar.

acelin
June 28th, 2008, 07:45 PM
Everything is a blip on the radar when it costs 150 bucks. Previous versions of Windows only cost $99... even all the way back to Windows 1.0.

I can say something- I actually bought Vista to replace XP. Good decision on my part. XP was horrible for me- always losing system32 files. I have had hardly and problems with Vista...

fatality_uk
June 28th, 2008, 07:49 PM
Wow, kick 'em while they're down, dude. :)

I never really thought about this, nor have I cared to. But, looking at my Vista desktop, yes, the icons "face away" from me in their default position.

Now, the bigger concerns I have with this "issue" are ...

1) Microsoft would pay someone to nit-pick this level of detail of the UI, and yet they fail on other accounts, like making the shutdown menu remember the last option you chose. (It doesn't. It keeps defaulting to sleep or whatnot, so if you're a habitual "shutdown" person, you have to waste time re-selecting it every time. Unless you google how to change the default setting.)

2) Of all things to focus attention on ... this? I mean, really, icons facing the "wrong" way? With all the other issues with Vista, this shouldn't even be a blip on the radar.

I know what your saying, Vista does have bigger issues, but the UI does make a vast difference to the user experience. Sometimes if something isn't quite right, and you can't put your finger on it, that can be an annoyance.

damis648
June 28th, 2008, 07:55 PM
Wow... I ACTUALLY agree... although as of last week I am free of Vista :-).

PS. My icon theme in Ubuntu faces the 'Right' way. :popcorn:

2cute4u
June 28th, 2008, 08:04 PM
Well Ive never actually seen vista, but from the screenshots I've seen the only icons that look backwards are the folder icons. But I line up my icons on the right side of my desktop

diablo75
June 28th, 2008, 08:09 PM
It would be cool if Compiz rendered icons as 3D objects that would rotate (on the x and y axis) to compliment their location on screen. And perhaps they could sort of increase in size and do a full 360 when you double-click on one.... just a thought. (I mean, who knows what most PCs and Compiz will be capable of doing in a few years time?)

Mazza558
June 28th, 2008, 08:14 PM
It would be cool if Compiz rendered icons as 3D objects that would rotate (on the x and y axis) to compliment their location on screen. And perhaps they could sort of increase in size and do a full 360 when you double-click on one.... just a thought. (I mean, who knows what most PCs and Compiz will be capable of doing in a few years time?)

Nice idea, provided we have enough free CPU power to do so without hampering performance of anything else.

fatality_uk
June 28th, 2008, 08:18 PM
Nice idea, provided we have enough free CPU power to do so without hampering performance of anything else.

As long as it only "draws" the icons in 3D mode when the desktop has focus, or a portion of it, the overhead wouldn't be that great would it?

Mazza558
June 28th, 2008, 08:23 PM
As long as it only "draws" the icons in 3D mode when the desktop has focus, or a portion of it, the overhead wouldn't be that great would it?

True. It's like the cube plugin only renders 2/3 sides unless you set the cube to be transparent.

diablo75
June 28th, 2008, 08:32 PM
Nice idea, provided we have enough free CPU power to do so without hampering performance of anything else.

Don't you mean GPU power?

markp1989
June 28th, 2008, 08:41 PM
I always thought there was something wrong with the layout but i couldnt figure out what.


ps: i like the idea of 3D icons for compiz

Can+~
June 28th, 2008, 08:53 PM
Microsoft always does everything backwards.

C:\something\folder\file
/something/folder/file

(This is troublesome for developers, since \ usually escapes characters)

Anyway, I think the icons are not such a big deal; the only thing that matters is that they form a "unity" (meaning that no icon will be in inverted position, or look like a Windows 2000 icon) and it represents what each thing does.

I personally dislike the style that windows took, excessive gloss and size; but this is just my opinion.

amazingtaters
June 28th, 2008, 09:31 PM
Seems to me they're all backwards, even the folder icon. Of course, the only icons that use on a regular basis that aren't "flat" or looking straight at me is the folder icon, and it opens the opposite way of the vista icon. Oh, and I'm using NuoveXT2 for those who want to take a gander.

RebounD11
June 28th, 2008, 11:20 PM
It would be cool if Compiz rendered icons as 3D objects that would rotate (on the x and y axis) to compliment their location on screen. And perhaps they could sort of increase in size and do a full 360 when you double-click on one.... just a thought. (I mean, who knows what most PCs and Compiz will be capable of doing in a few years time?)

Doesn't KDE4 have sth like that?

isaacj87
June 28th, 2008, 11:33 PM
It would be cool if Compiz rendered icons as 3D objects that would rotate (on the x and y axis) to compliment their location on screen. And perhaps they could sort of increase in size and do a full 360 when you double-click on one.... just a thought. (I mean, who knows what most PCs and Compiz will be capable of doing in a few years time?)

Wouldn't it be interesting if we had this?

http://www.simplehelp.net/2007/07/30/an-introduction-to-real-desktop-a-windows-desktop-replacement/

Solicitous
June 29th, 2008, 12:29 AM
After reading the article yes I can see some logic in what is being said. I never noticed (or took enough notice) the icons facing the wrong way round. What has struck me as pathetic is the size of the icons on the desktop with the default Vista theme. Having my first look at Vista on a laptop with 1280X800 res I could not believe how huge they were compared to XP at the same res.

doorknob60
June 29th, 2008, 02:10 AM
I never noticed that before, but it does look a little weird :-P My KDE icon theme faces straight at me BTW.

the yawner
June 29th, 2008, 05:16 AM
It makes sense. Vista's desktop by default displays icons that are arranged on the leftmost side of the screen. Hence, the recycle bin icon does look like it's facing away.

kevin11951
June 29th, 2008, 09:52 AM
Wouldn't it be interesting if we had this?

http://www.simplehelp.net/2007/07/30/an-introduction-to-real-desktop-a-windows-desktop-replacement/

hmmm... i wonder how hard it would be to write a replacement like that for linux? if i start writing it, anyone wana help? (keep in mind i know next to nothing about programing, so this will be my first time out)

Tomatz
June 29th, 2008, 10:07 AM
Also isnt that a mac wallpaper on the laptop???

http://www.istartedsomething.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/iconsvs.jpg

macogw
June 29th, 2008, 03:41 PM
Don't you mean GPU power?

If you have discrete graphics, then yes, but all of us that prefer to stick to integrated Intel because we know it'll always work on Linux really do mean CPU.